Threads of Resistance

June 7, 2017, 10:41 pm

Quilts with a message to the president

Over the years we’ve covered quilters and other textile artists who have used their art as a forum of protest or to convey a political message. Earlier this year, the Artists Circle Alliance, consisting of ten textile artists, including HAND/EYE contributor Jane Dunnewold, discussed in a private group on Facebook how stressed they were—since the inauguration. Among the discussions the women had was how they could create art to counter the fear and frustration they felt over the policies of the current administration.

Soon afterwards, the discussions veered to the idea of creating an exhibition of fiber art that would reflect their concerns and speak out against corruption and oppression, hatred and lies. The idea turned into reality and named Threads of Resistance. Themes for potential artwork varied from Black Lives Matter to Climate Change to Equal Rights.

Threads of Resistance is a juried exhibition. The group received more than 550 submissions after the call for entries was announced.

Among the pieces entered was Amy Dane’s Not So Safe, highlighting the safety pin trend that emerged on social media. “Wearing a safety pin was celebrated as an easy way to show support for those negatively affected by his win, and the idea spread rapidly. Those in favor of the concept claimed that a simple safety pin attached to one’s coat would show that person to be a “safe space” for people who were being further marginalized by Trump and his followers,” explained Dane.

Katherine McClelland’s Speak Truth expresses setting aside complacency about becoming involved in “disrupting hate and supporting my fellow human beings. Marching with my 12-year-old daughter in Washington D.C. in January was an important and empowering moment for me so I chose to focus on an image of myself wearing the iconic Pink Pussy hat. I wanted the words to be present but not overpowering. To see all the text the viewer has to move around, change their viewpoint, and take a moment to read. In doing so, the viewer becomes more active and less passive.”

Nevertheless, They Persisted by Do Palma is the artist’s response to Mitch McConnell’s decision to block Elizabeth Warren from testifying at the Senate confirmation hearing for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Warren was reading a letter from Coretta Scott King that was critical of Mr. Sessions. McConnell stated, ‘She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.’ Later, other (male) senators read the same letter into the record.”

Lyric Montgomery Kinard’s Still Yearning conveys from it’s very inception, “the privilege of citizenship in the Unites States of America has been denied to group after group, based on race and religion…We have turned away people after people who have sought refuge and opportunity. Now our leaders have chosen to vilify Muslims fleeing massacre and Mexicans seeking a better life for their children. We as citizens can choose to better live the highest of our American values; "that all men are created equal.” Through our individual actions and compassion we can stitch our country into a tapestry of great strength and beauty. Through our votes and civil dialogue and understanding of the data gathered by scientists, we can mend the tears in the fabric of our society.”

Threads of Resistance will first be exhibited at The New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA from July 11 and will run through September 9, 2017.

For more information and venues, please visit www.threadsofresistance.com

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Discipline & Endurance

June 21, 2017, 5:21 pm

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Textile

Fashion

Ann Robinson’s peaceful weavings

I sincerely believe that weaving teaches us much more than how to make cloth. Learning to weave provides focus and discipline and allows us to practice patience and endurance. These skills, I believe, are necessary to maintain one's sanity in this chaotic world – a world of constant noise, information overload, and a lot of bad news.

In my own work, I design and weave one-of-a-kind textiles using traditional looms, respecting and preserving an ancient form of art. I have three looms in my home studio and use only natural fibers, primarily plant fibers (cotton, tencel [wood], bamboo, soy, linen, hemp) and silk. The weaving process is itself an art, and I weave not to create a picture but rather to express a feeling through color and structure. I hand-dye the yarn in a variety of color combinations and then choose a structure of repeating patterns, resulting in a visual rhythm that is evident in each piece.

I felt “stuck” in my view of color because I kept returning to the same colorways: blues, purples, reds, oranges. I decided to expand my color consciousness by traveling to Guatemala in 2016. I visited weaving coops in the highlands to study their weaving traditions and to learn how to manage a backstrap loom. I spent a great deal of time talking with the weavers about how they combine different colors. The thought of using pink and brown together, for example, had never crossed my mind until I saw how they make it work.

I came home with 212 spools of colored cotton and am using my newfound knowledge to create different combinations. My goal is to weave pieces that would be of interest to small fashion houses in San Francisco. If I am successful, my hope is to be able to turn a request for yardage over to Mayan Hands or Mayan Traditions. Those coops would then weave the yardage, and 90% of the payment would be given to the weavers themselves.

To learn more about Ann, visit www.annrobinsontextiles.com.

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Cape Cod Shibori

June 21, 2017, 5:33 pm

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Textile

Rachel Switzer’s enticing color and patterns

After several years of taking classes, studying books and experimenting with Shibori techniques, I opened my Etsy shop, ‘Cape Cod Shibori’ in 2013. My attraction ton this method of putting pattern and color on cloth, was immediate. Color and pattern have always enticed me, and I’ve been using cloth and fiber to express this since I was a teenager. I dabbled in embroidery, sewing, weaving and macram.

I made my first patchwork quilt while working in a fabric store during high school. I like selecting and combining patterns. I can spend hours arranging and rearranging cut pieces, juxtaposing scale, print, and color before assembling them into a whole.

The design process with all its possibility, is my favorite part.

I also like using needle and thread. I admire how the stitches appear lined up on cloth. In Japan there is a day to honor needles and I can understand this. The needle is the simplest of tools, but can accomplish so much. I stitched my first quilt entirely by hand. I wasn’t in a rush to have a completed blanket, rather it was the doing that I enjoyed most. Now I piece on a machine, (another awe-inspiring gadget) but finish with hand quilting. I’m continually looking for new textile skills to explore and right now, I have my eye on learning Sashiko.

My journey with Shibori began when I saw some silk scarves in a craft shop. Immediately, I knew I had to try this technique. It wasn’t the luxury of silk, or the desire to wear nice accessories. I’m no fashionista. I wanted to

put pattern onto cloth.

My favorite Shibori pattern is the traditional design called ‘White Shadow’. It is made by first hand stitching a grid on fabric. Then all the stitching is pulled tight. It is this compression of fabric upon fabric, which creates the resist, or areas the dye cannot penetrate. After adding color by way of the dye bath, all the stitches are removed. It is always exciting to unveil the finished, one of a kind piece and reveal the nuanced markings. To me, the beauty of this pattern is unrivaled. It remains my favorite.

From ‘White Shadow’ I moved onto other hand-stitched patterns, then to pole wrapped (Arashi) and folded (Itajime) designs. With Arashi, fabric is wrapped, bound or compressed around a pole in a myriad of ways. Traditionally, the pole was a length of bamboo, but I use PVC. For Itajime, fabric is folded, most often in geometric shapes, and clamped before dyeing. Sometimes I emulate traditional patterns, but I also experiment with more playful and inventive designs.

The possibilities for variation and originality are limitless. I don’t see tiring of this technique and sloshing around in dye buckets anytime soon.

Primarily, I dye unfinished cotton for quilters, sewists and crafters, but I also put Shibori patterns on salvaged denim for customers’ Boro projects. And since there’s nothing more beautiful than indigo on linen, I return tothat fiber periodically. It’s hugely satisfying to provide other creative people with quality supplies.

For more information please visit: Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/CapeCodShibori,

website http://www.capecodshibori.com/, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/capecodshibori/, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CapeCodShibori/

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Joyful Soul

June 21, 2017, 5:37 pm

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Textile

Michelle Mischkulnig plays with texture and color

I have been a textile artist “forever”who uses the sewing machine, color and texture to tell a story. I use free motion machine embroidery techniques to draw these elements together, the end result fills my (and hopefully others) soul with joy.

“Alegria color for the soul”

Inspired by places I have been, the colors, the textures, the emotion, places I wish to visit. Needing to feel their rhythm, drawn to their conversation, and enthralled by their color and texture. It is the everyday that holds the beauty and inspiration, watching the seasons change, listening and laughing with friends and family, the roar of the ocean. I hope to convey the color and movement; how I respond emotionally to these experiences. My textile artwork is not an accurate or literal depiction, it is how I feel it in my heart, how I am moved, what makes me smile. All my textile artwork comes from my heart, head and hand.

When I am creating, I love to use hand dyed fibres and silks, found objects and collected treasures. I layer, tear, fold, stitch, paint, allowing my sewing machine to dance across the surface and pull all the elements together.

Most often the initial design idea I have started with is not where I finish. I find the spontaneity of working with textiles mesmerizing, a simple drape, or fold of fabric, can send me off in a new direction. The way fabric tears or paper folds, gold buff illuminates can change the whole perspective on the original idea. I do not like to procrastinate over color or perfection. Color is intuitive for me. I don’t teach color but will guide with color. I believe that if it doesn’t work you can stitch or paint over it. Textiles are forgiving. I will never search for the perfect stitch length or even color because life is not perfect.

Why do we stress over our art works to be perfect? Life is a rhythm of ups and downs, patterns of joy and sadness, of hope and new beginnings. What you create should not have to fit into rules and expectations, it should tell your story and speak to the viewer.

I have a passion for the garden, leaves, the beach and old city doors. All of which tell stories and hold strength and secrets.

I recently started teaching with the goal to inspire my students to make them passionate with the use of color and texture. I hope to introduce my students to new materials and techniques and watch them grasp these possibilities and make them theirs. I want them to hold this possibility tight in their hands, head and heart and allow it to grow.

My favorite quote, which is painted on my sewing room wall, is taken for a book by Roald Dahl––a British novelist and poet–– and I strongly believe in is message. I will share it with you in the hope that you carry into your creative life.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”

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Embroidery Love

July 6, 2017, 8:07 pm

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Textile

Embroidery

Finding the image

There was a period when the internet first became exposure for textile practices where I lost myself in “mixed media”. The only thing that held it together, however weakly, was the fabric. When I discovered natural dyeing and other organic cloth marking methods, my whole approach changed. Initially with these elemental fabrics, I used machine work, then moved to hand embroidery, finding the delicate appearing look was actually strong, unifying. I continue to “find the image” in the unique marks inherent in the process: the chemical mysteries of natural dyeing and ecoprinting create an innate form of “Shizen”, where naturally occurring patterns and rhythms are incorporated into the design, being of nature, but distinct from it because of my translation.

Because certain subjects fascinate me, I am now deliberately creating design on fabrics, some to be used whole, some to be incorporated in other works. Though the base is calculated, these compositions are enhanced intuitively as I pick up needle and thread. Bodies, faces, the micro and macroscopic aspects of our human form inspire me to tell idiosyncratic stories, a word, a phrase, a bit of poetry inspiring the initial idea. I’m stirred too by the natural world, from moons to insect eggs, and often incorporate these motifs into “body” work.

When I learned embroidery, I used only satin stitch and french knots; now I prefer cleaner lines and simple stitches with a few fancies for texture. I let the fabric move as it will (I loathe embroidery hoops) and with those basic stitches used experimentally, can control the depth of manipulation and the resulting texture. Oft-times, the thread color determines an atavistic response to where and how it will be used. I tend to softer shades as they enhance the natural dyes, and prefer variegated threads for tonal changes and depth. I use mostly commercially dyed threads, as there is a dearth of affordable naturally dyed threads in the quantities I need, but have never felt this was a compromise--color is color after all, and i’m not such a purist that i feel like i’m “cheating”.

I love hand embroidery, I mean I really love hand embroidery. I love the way the fabric shifts and takes on its own dimension as the needle moves across it, the way the stitches lie, tight and bunched, or pulling and shifting the background, or loose and lovely in raised effects, the texture under the hand, the way the light reflects on some areas and disappears in others. I find it a constant marvel how a needle, thread and my hand can make things more than what they begin as.

I rarely buy new fabrics, preferring thrift stores and alley scrounging. Scraps and pieces count. Those are my currency, my ancestry, my culture, apportionment, heritage. Grounded in poverty with a desire to own something useful. Something beautiful, something craft and art, stitching transcends the base, the sameness, the norm.

For more information visit www.albedoarlee2.wordpress.com On Facebook: www.facebook.com/fybrespace.arleebarr/

And purchase her work on Etsy: www.fybrespace.bigcartel.com.

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Exploring the Ordinary

July 6, 2017, 8:18 pm

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Textile

Natural Dyes

Creating a textile puzzle

I consider myself an explorer of the ordinary, an archeologist of the overlooked, insignificant and quirky. The treasures I hunt are the old and worn, discarded and found objects, richly patinated with story. A feather no longer necessary to one bird's flight or a rusty nail, its neck at breaking point from holding its head against old wood and weather for a hundred years or a bit of cloth touched by the hand of another maker.

There are things outside of and around me that capture my attention like nature’s textures, the sound and meanings of words, the color of clay, but the journey is fluid and moves toward inner terrain, following the root to its source, to idea and memory, my stories and half-full life lessons. By doing so, I acknowledge the spectrum of trial and triumph. I honor my scars. My intention is to find balance and express truth in the presence of paradox.

I have been an artist and maker for as long as I can remember with skills derived from a study of painting, photography, culture and handcrafts. I approach each idea as a piece in the puzzle of knowing, adding and editing, bit by bit. I attempt to bring a sense of purpose, order and universal consciousness to my work, though it is often abstract and reliant on my innate connection to certain shapes and symbols. I use words, my materials, instinct and solitude to map a path of migration. I might start with a sketch or spontaneously draw from my collection of vintage textiles, hand dyed and then hand stitched to describe movement, the way we travel, literally across time and place and mystically, emotionally and imaginatively. Identity through memory or conjured narrative are expressed slowly and with conviction through the stitch marks. The surface topography of texture and layers are cryptic notations for the narrative, which evolves with focus on the process and the dialog between the character of my materials and my thoughts.

An integral part of nurturing my practice is working experimentally with paper, paint and natural dyes from plant materials. My sketch journals are a gathering space for ideas, failed and successful experiments and samples, souvenirs of place and memory and words of inspiration. I find even greater connection to a piece by building materials from scratch, often weaving bits of cloth or printing and painting cloth with watercolor, earth ochres and dyes. Binding together small pages into journals, doing meditative drawing and collaging help define my direction.

My work extends outward through exhibits and teaching, completing the creative continuum. Public interaction and feedback are essential to an artist’s continuing growth. Through teaching, I learn so much and encourage others to seek the seed from which authentic creativity blossoms. Bringing meaning to life through our hands is healing and the human spirit is made tangible.

Please visit www.RoxanneLasky.com to view more images of her work, her blog and information about workshops.

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Reimagining Bagh

July 6, 2017, 8:22 pm

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Textile

A young artisan reinterprets his forefathers’ craft

The flowing waters of the Baghini, the chemistry of colors derived from nature and the wondrous craftsmanship of artisans who live the craft…the bold yet feminine Bagh print has had everything going for it. Except in the last few years when it’s had to grapple with challenges like eroding traditional markets, changing customer preferences and retailers appropriating the motifs to create cheaper machine-made prints among others.

But Bagh, like the small town kid who beats the odds to win, has moved out of its local market and spread on to a larger fashion landscape.

How did this change happen? With the help of innovative young craftsmen like the acclaimed artisan Mohammed Bilal Khatri from Bagh; the opening up of new avenues like online retail and with intuitive translations of the craft into contemporary renderings that work across a global aesthetic.

Bilal, just 30 years old, comes from a family of traditional Bagh artisans – they’ve been practicing the craft since the 14th century. He started learning the craft from his father Mohammed Yusuf Khatri at the age of eight – understanding and practicing the complex nuances of printing, dyeing with vegetable colors and the importance of the waters of the local river, Baghini.

Born in 1987, Bilal is already an acclaimed Bagh craftsperson having won awards from the government of India and Russia and participated in shows and exhibitions around the world.

Once upon a time, Bagh fabric was only made for the use of local communities like the Bhils, Kurmis and Luhars. Different patterns, from a limited design language, were created for each group to become identity-markers. The Khatris, who are traditional Bagh printers, came to this small town from Larkana in Sindh about 400 years ago according to local lore. They stayed because their traditional skill of block-printing found water, a critical resource, in abundance here.

The Khatris used a limited color palette of red and black obtained from madder roots, the local dhavadi flower and alum to color a limited array of motifs which emerged from the artisan’s environment – the miraj pattern comprising of ambi (or mangoes) with two leaves, attha design of eight petals, leheriya, juwariya (grains of the local staple grain - jowar), the shakkarpara or diamond motif and makkhi or fly.

The fabric for dyeing went through several steps like soaking in raw salt, castor oil and goat dung, basic dyeing with harda paste to create a resist for later printing with natural colors…all of this is interspersed with several cycles of washing in the river and drying on its banks.

Bilal, like many before him, could have gone on making Bagh prints the traditional way, but that spark of creativity that doesn’t let an artist rest made him look for new ways to use the old print. He made modifications in motifs through experimenting with wood blocks and worked with newer textiles like silk, jute, bamboo fiber and leather along with the traditional cotton.

Bilal also worked on creating updated translations of the craft, turning it into apparel and home linen. With these endeavors he has contributed to the craft’s journey from being a textile meant for the consumption of local communities like the Kurmis and Sirvis to one that can adapt to fresh translations and appeals to a contemporary wardrobe.

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Social Justice

July 6, 2017, 8:27 pm

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Textile

How sewing and activism work hand-in-hand

The first step in understanding the world and where I fit in was exploring my passion for sewing, art and social justice. As a child, I always loved creating crafts and sewing. Being blessed with parents who could afford sewing and art lessons, I was able to develop skills that would help me express my thoughts and dreams in a compelling way through quilting. Little did I know, my early desire for fun, colorful sewing and simple design would create an opportunity for me to gain self-esteem, joy and earn money.

When I was 16-years-old, I was saddened to learn Trayvon Martin was murdered. Trayvon and I were born only days apart and our lives, both valuable and precious to our families, had very different outcomes. My first portrait art quilt, "Rest In Power: Trayvon Martin," was designed as a memorial for the young Black teen who was murdered due to fear of the unknown, felt by another man, which was largely due to Trayvon’s race.

These events inspired me to create the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). SJSA is a critical education program that fosters participatory art as a vehicle for personal transformation, community cohesion, and social change. It is a place where people come together to create art that provides healing, self-expression and a call to action.

SJSA has workshops to create quilt blocks that are designed by young people who may have never worked with fabric before. These quilt blocks are constructed with colorful fabric by a new fabric artist who speaks his or her heart through the message and meaning placed on the block. The blocks are designed by young folks who may not have had the opportunity to take expensive sewing or art classes, and may have never had their voices heard. After the workshop is completed, the blocks are distributed across the nation to experienced volunteers who embroider and embellish the blocks with their own special touch!

The final product is a quilt block, perhaps designed by a 13-year-old girl, about her desire to motivate her community to combat gang violence. That same block might be embroidered by a 70-year-old woman who lives in Vermont and has never felt the pain of losing a family member or friend due to gang violence, but wants to help start a movement.

By bridging the two fabric artists together through sewing, a common ground of understanding and empathy is found; and the collaboration creates one piece of an amazing art quilt! The art quilts that I sew together bind Americans from all walks of life, age, gender, sexuality and socioeconomic backgrounds together and create an art quilt that will speak to joy and pain felt individually and as a whole in a collective, non-threatening and non-judgmental dialogue. I believe that by having productive dialogue, people can drive out hate and replace it with love.

The challenge I face with SJSA is finding the free time away from work to host workshops. My goal is to write grants and find additional sources of funding so I can develop a curriculum that will be shared with teachers across the country to bring SJSA workshops into public schools or after school programs. SJSA can be shared with students who might not otherwise have a place to kindle their passion for social justice issues that are relevant in their lives.

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In Your Face

July 19, 2017, 8:09 pm

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A year of self-portraits

Having diverged into academia in the 2000s, I gradually returned to my embroidery practice. It has not been as easy as I thought. Interest in embroidery has resurged and the field is much livelier, with many more stitchers claiming and expanding the space. In the 1990s as a guest lecturer at the Australian National University’s School of Art, I tried to enthuse students to stitch was hard work. Students squirmed and were disinterested.

In 2016, I was very active in reinvigorating my practice. I did this by signing up to an online course run by textile artist and educator Jane Dunnewold. The key ideas I took was keeping a reflective journal, working with multiples of a single image or shape and the importance of ‘just turning up’ each day in the studio or working space each day. Dunnewold argues that simply becoming active daily by picking up a pen, cutting fabric, drawing, or collecting and arranging objects often leads on to engagement.

I also took an intensive five-day course with Australian artist Ruth Hadlow. This course also emphasized writing, as well as critical thinking in art making. I regularly return to the notes I took during this course. I also meets monthly with local artists who participated in Hadlow’s course to discuss ideas, visit exhibitions as well as venture out on drawing excursions.

In December 2016, I read an online article about the artist Hannah Claire Somerville’s ambitious 365-day project called 1 Year of Stitches. Somerville disciplined herself to post her stitching daily on Instagram.

On New Year’s Eve, I began thinking about a hand-stitching project for the year ahead. Initially that seemed easy enough, but coming up with imagery to be stitched and posted on social media for a year became daunting. Getting desperate by the late afternoon I remembered the maxim ‘start with something you know’. My face was one such thing. I quickly drew a self-portrait, scanned the image, reduced it and then pinned it onto a piece of linen to tack it out. It is old technology, but it works.

The first self-portrait was finished surprisingly fast, despite only stitching for 30-60 minutes each evening. The discipline of posting each day and developing an audience has been revitalizing. A second, then a third, fourth and fifth self-portrait appeared. Eventually fifteen filled the linen.

As a regular visitor to the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, I had been fascinated by artists’ self-portraits. The intense gaze of the artists, how they stand, and how they communicate their ideas captivated me.

It became apparent that my followers enjoyed the daily and gradual build-up of imagery, leaving the detail of the faces till last. One follower commented: “It’s like a polaroid developing”. I am continuing with portraits for the rest of the year.

My portraits on Instagram are only one aspect of my studio practice. Machine embroidery, which explores lace-like structures emphasizing the delicate balance of the world we live in, takes up much of my time.

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Women's Business

July 19, 2017, 8:31 pm

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Textile

Carpet Weaving in Azerbaijan

Located along one of the tributaries of the fabled Silk Road, the Trans-Caucasus–Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan–has long enjoyed its strategic position at the nexus of Asia and Europe. Carpet weaving in this part of the world has been traced back to the Bronze Age, long predating the ancient trade route that once connected two continents.

In Azerbaijan, carpet weaving has a particular cultural significance. More unique carpet designs are woven here than in any other country on Earth. Many of those designs are documented at Baku’s Carpet Museum, the first institution of its kind in the world. Soumak, Azerbaijan’s signature style of carpet-making, involves hand-wrapping pure sheep’s wool threads over a warp. The wool is purposefully left uncut on the carpet’s underside and as a result, soumak are non-reversible. The tuft of wool gives the rug extra warmth and durability–important in Azerbaijan’s mountain villages, where winters are bitterly cold.

In recent years, Azeri carpets have found a market outside of their traditional use in homes and for ceremonies. Soumak and cut-pile carpets are an increasingly popular souvenir for tourists from Russia, Turkey and Central Asia. Small workshops that re-emerged in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse are once again alive with the clunk of looms. It was on a recent visit to one such workshop, Qadim Quba, that I got to see soumak and cut-pile carpet weaving up close.

Located two hours north of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, and close to the border with Dagestan, Quba is a small city of just 38,000 people. It has long been known as one of Azerbaijan’s seven key carpet-making centers.

Qadim Quba looks nondescript from the street. After entering a long hallway, I have to try a few doors before I eventually find the workshop. Not a word of English is spoken by the women working inside, but they are more than happy to show me around and allow me to photograph them working. Most make carpets; others are busy assembling a massive steel-frame loom.

Carpet weaving is strictly women’s business. Traditionally, weaving would be reserved for the winter months but at Qadim Quba, artisans must work year-round to keep up with demand. Up to six women work in tandem on the one carpet – huge area-rugs that bare traditional Quba designs, knotted according to a complex tie-by-numbers pattern. Others work individually on small Sajjadah prayer mats. Synthetic colours are mixed with Quba’s traditional hues of red, blue, green, yellow and cream.

Some designs are more contemporary than others; an almost life-size Jesus Christ on the cross catches my eye. This is not what I expected to see in Muslim-majority Azerbaijan – but Quba is also home to the country’s largest Jewish population, so this kind of religious crossover is not a total surprise.

One thing I do find extraordinary is the median age of the artisans. Many are young women in their 20s and early 30s; some listen to music on their iPhones as they work. It's unusual to see younger generations engaged in commercial weaving. It’s a great testament to Qadim Quba that wages and demand are both high enough to attract young women to pursue a career in carpet making.

For more information, please visit Qadim Quba on Facebook.

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Saving Grace

July 19, 2017, 8:37 pm

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Textile

How paint and thread coexist

I am an artist and writer working from my studio in Muizenberg, a small seaside village in Cape Town, South Africa.

Over the last ten years or so, I started incorporating my love of textiles, needle and thread into my painting practice. At first I stitched on top of my paintings, creating textural topographies that invited a more tactile way of interacting with the work. I feel that the repetitive nature of stitching, and the time it takes to cover even a small surface, reflect our bodies’ continuous internal cellular process of decay and renewal, visible on a microscopic level. The cellular patterning on that level astounds me, and I find it deeply satisfying to try and tap into, and capture, that interconnection of all living things.

I now work directly onto previously owned, heavily stained domestic fabric: tea tray cloths, tablecloths, napkins, etc. To me, these domestic stains become a metaphor for the burden that so many women, the world over, still carry in society today. From the moment a girl has her first (always unexpected) period, “getting out stains” becomes a background worry, and most of us soon morph into fixers, the cleaners of others’ messes, the sanitizers.

I start a new project by adding stains to the base cloth, using everyday items like tea, coffee, red wine, flower pollen, turmeric and other spices. It can take a long time to get the desired result, and I usually pre-stain several pieces at the same time. This initial, almost meditative, handling of the fabric gives me a chance to discover the story I want to tell. I’m an intuitive worker, and do very little other preparation, except for free-writing practice, and keeping a dream diary. Before starting the process of slow hand stitching, I draw directly onto the fabric, or transfer visual images and words, using carbon paper. Once I’m done stitching, I dip the work into a heavy, homemade starch, mixed with borax. After ironing, the work presents as something other than just ‘a stitched piece of cloth’ – I love the strong parchment texture it gets, similar to a thin sheet of porcelain.

The themes of my stitched works evolve continuously; a constant element is feminism and raising awareness about domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence. South African society is still by and large patriarchal: a woman’s place is in the home, and she should keep her opinions to herself. We have the highest rape statistics in the world – as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, these themes remain the stubborn monkey on my back. Reflecting on these issues, while stitching, helps remove that “stain” from my psyche.

The beauty of the natural world offers a counterpoint to these dark themes. The bucolic scenes traditionally found on embroidered tray cloths and other domestic textiles form the perfect background to the dark stories I choose to tell. I’m also drawn to images of rescue at sea, an intuitive need, I imagine, to feel supported – carried – to a safe shore.

Doing the work I do, saves me daily.

For more information, visit http://www.willemiendevilliers.co.za/

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Transcending Chic

August 2, 2017, 8:44 pm

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Textile

Artifact

South African Integrity and Composition

Rarity Handbags began when one intrepid entrepreneur, Jacqueline Burge, rose to the challenge of working with spring bok hides. This raw material is notorious for its difficulty, but when a farmer’s wife approached Jacqueline with her concern about how the raw material was wasted in burnings, Jacqueline found her niche and a way to express her devotion for South African aesthetics and principles. Seventeen years later, the company has refined their techniques with this raw material, and employs artisans who are involved in every level of production.

“The Artisans are a large part of my inspiration, knowing that I am providing sustainable jobs, with full benefits, is the drive behind my need to for our business to succeed. You would need to meet these humble, grateful, dedicated individuals who make our company what is, and then you would understand why I want us to grow and flourish,” Jacqueline Burge, founder of Rarity Handbags, says of the artisans behind the textiles.

An amicable relationship with local tanneries ensures the meeting of international specifications and meeting buyers’ desires for color and design. Each hide is hand selected and hand cut after deliberating uniformity, design, color, and distinctive markings. The textiles are then dye cut with a pneumatic press, each cut precisely measured. Each edge is then skived by a highly trained machine operator, allowing for the density and thickness of the hide. Artisans then hand paint the unprocessed edges with up to five layers of special paint, complementing both the raw material and the desired outcome to bring a product that is both sustainable and exclusive to the buyer.

Only then are the separate pieces made available for manufacturing. Every artisan receives a detailed process sheet. The process sheets provide measurements and directions to help maintain the integrity of the product for the artisans who work with up to fifty separate pieces at one time. Production managers facilitate process changes based on cotton color, which is key because the end product will move around the factory upwards of twenty times before it reaches employees responsible for cleaning and quality control.

Rarity Handbag’s admirable predilection for perfection doesn’t stop there. Each piece is inspected twice before it leaves the factory. Each step of the process is warranted, providing products that offer functional, vibrant design available in colors like indigo, marine, port, and slate.

“Our bestselling Feather clutch combines different materials in one product, and this is a signature for which Rarity has become known. This unusual combination of materials was inspired by the diverse and culturally rich society we live in, and became the basis for a literal translation of 'harmony in diversity'. At NYN we take this one step further by collaborating with the designer Juditha Saskinofsy. Juditha is known for her expertise in fabrics, and fabric print development, together we have taken the best-selling feather clutch one design step further through our collective collaboration. These limited-edition pieces will be on show at NYN,” Jacqueline says of what buyers can expect at the upcoming exhibition.

These clutches, embossed with ostrich feathers and a vivacious color palette, will be exhibited for potential buyers at NY NOW’s Artisan Resource August 20-23 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

For more information, please visit www.rarity.co.za

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Story by Design

August 2, 2017, 8:48 pm

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Textile

Ximena Rozo Integrates Narrative and Aesthetics

Some might call Ximena Rozo a maverick- this fiercely creative and prolific woman whose company bears her name. With fifteen US patents in aircraft design for the Boeing 787 in her storied portfolio, she wanted to invest in Latino artisans. She qualifies this transition by declaring it’s not such a strange new chapter in her life after all. “I am an industrial designer and an entrepreneur. My work spans a broad spectrum, from designing interior details of the Boeing 787 passenger cabin for me design home textiles and home furnishings is not a transition from industrial design it is an application of Industrial design.”

“I feel Inspired by traditional transient societies (nomads), masters of the techniques of moving and packing efficiently, at my studio Ximena Rozo Design I strive to bring furniture and home accessories to the market that are not only portable and unpredictable, but also that enrich the life of the urban dweller, who is driven by innovative lifestyles and imaginative scenarios. People tend to move, and when they do, they establish new territory. This behavior influences the way mobile urbanites interact with their physical world. The focus of my designs is functionality, tactile qualities, and high-quality materials to create permanence rather than disposability. Products are designed to be easy-to-pack and easy-to-transport, with an emphasis on designs as vessels for emotional connections.”

This is the telling warp and weft of Ximena Rozo Design. The company’s previous work with The Hilo Sagrado Foundation, an organization that promotes Latin American heritage and female empowerment, aligns perfectly with Rozo’s goals. Her company and its artisans create sumptuous home textiles that challenge conventions of uniformity and perceptions of how to fuse tradition and modern values. We live in a transitory society; our story constantly evolves. Rozo is more the author of “ready-to-go” than rebel. The open dialogue between native artisans and Rozo emboldens a serenity in their textiles that promises the buyer will feel at home anywhere.

Ximena takes a straight forward approach to design and process. “I am very interested in weaving, particularly in basketry, because by making baskets a weaver transforms two-dimensional materials into three-dimensional objects using fibers and then by combing weaving pattern and techniques they create a structural tridimensional shape. So, forms evolve from 2D to 3D. My design approach emphasizes color vibrancy and rich tactile qualities, realized in unconventional forms to establish emotional connections thus fostering permanence rather than disposability. We used the rich cultural and creative heritage of indigenous Latin American communities as a means of fostering their economic and social development.”

Buyers will be rewarded with what Ximena describes as, “A new line of textiles that combine contemporary styling with artisan production to deliver a unique brand with luxury appeal.

Our customers value, uniqueness, authenticity, and quality. They like to mix functional and modern with objects that tell stories. Home 2017 by Ximena Rozo Design is a smart collection that reflects Ximena’s passion for exceptional design with a social impact.”

This expressive collection will be exhibited for potential buyers at NY NOW’s Artisan Resource August 20-23 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

For more information, or to purchase product, please visit www.ximenarozo.co

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Dialog by Textile

August 9, 2017, 1:26 pm

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Textile

Weaving

Weft and Warp of Modern Conversation

The Asociacion Artesanos Andinos (AAA) celebrates the intrinsic value and artistic identity of indigenous female weavers. Their skill set is pre-Hispanic, a storied conversation entwining generational knowledge and preservation with the more contemporary tale of women joining together in creative spirit. AAA is an economic organization comprised of three centers, employing 180 professional artisans.

Carmen Cardozo, store manager, elaborates. “Each center has a democratically elected leader serving for a term of two years. It is the responsibility of this leader to maintain transparent operational standards, convey communication between centers and to distribute work in a fair and consistent manner. The leaders of the three centers comprise the Board of Directors of AAA, giving the members of the cooperative full control over operational and budgeting happenings.”

This investment in its regional creatives allows AAA to assist women who’ve long faced discrimination despite their skills and talents. The artisans face several barriers- poverty, cold temperatures and barren highlands-but this organization provides resources like production, marketing, and aid in on-the-job training. Weavers and skilled workers then better serve their families and communities, providing sustainable economic growth and active participation in their own personal growth and organization.

The artisans work with regional dyes such as eucalyptus, the dyeing process itself merited by its social importance to the pre-Hispanic peoples. “Colors are determined by the availability of the plant and insect matter found during that particular season, and in this way, works with what Pachamama (Mother Earth) provides,” Cardoza says. The textiles soak in the natural dyes, then rest. Once mordants are used to fix the color to the fabric through a process of boiling and cooling, the product is then washed and hung in the shade to dry.

The weaving itself constitutes social importance in the highland communities. The textiles are elemental in and of themselves, representing centuries of custom, religion, and community standing. Women often begin learning at the hand of their matriarchs between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Fajitas representative of their community are often the first efforts before the young weavers graduate to larger textiles. The members of AAA use either the traditional floor loom, or the horizontal- or pedal- loom.

Cardoza reveals more about the value of weaving in Andean culture, and the organization’s desire to rescue centuries of artisanal skills. “The weaving work, is done by each as a complementary work to their cultivation of the land. The increasing effects of climate change on the highlands of Bolivia, have made the dry season more longer and more extreme than in years past. This change created the need to migrate from the Altiplano to the cities in pursuit of work to compensate for the loss of harvests. With this internal migration has come the rapid loss of an ancient and traditional art form. The work of AAA has enabled the weavers to stay in their home communities and continue the art of weaving, passing the tradition to the next generation in order to preserve the vitality of this art form, and the sense of community.”

Textiles rich with composition and color by AAA will be exhibited for potential buyers at NY NOW’s Artisan Resource August 20-23 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

For more information, please visit http://arteandino.org.

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Simple Beginnings

August 9, 2017, 1:53 pm

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Textile

Tribal Textiles finds inspiration at its doorstep

Tribal Textiles started more than 20 years ago when founder Gillie Lightfoot began to work with textiles as a hobby when she lived between the “Munyamadzi" area - a game management area between two National Parks.

According to Gillie, “The textiles started from simple beginnings, under the big Acacia trees in a small safari camp on the banks of the Luangwa River. We set up some makeshift tables on logs and working out the technique took time and patience. With limited resources and no electricity or running water, Tribal slowly emerged under the limitations that are now its trademark.”

Tribal Textiles employs local Zambian men and women who come from the South Luangwa Valley. Almost 50 percent of the employees are women who are trained according to their existing skill set and in the department of their work, which includes sewing, painting, starching, washing, and general work.

For a company that started in a camp without phone or internet 20 years ago, Tribal Textiles has been wildly successful with its level of repeat business from loyal customers. Yet, Africa does have its obstacles. “A big challenge that we face every year is that we have to close down the workshop during the rains as the climate is not ideal for production. Many of our staff also have land that needs to be tended to during that season so are unable to come in to work. Another challenge is that we insist on producing our textiles on 100% African cotton using and sourcing all our raw materials from within Africa. This isn’t always easy!” Said Gillie.

But once the rains stop, it’s back to work. Tribal Textiles designs a wide range of luscious fabrics and home-furnishing products, from bed and table linen as well as wall-hangings, fashion accessories and children’s products. In creating the designs, a starch resist method derived from Mali mud cloth is used. “It begins with cutting, sewing and fraying of the cotton material. Each piece of fabric is then soaked in water, and a design in drawn on with a starch mixture (flour and water). The starched fabric is then sun-dried, after which is then painted with hand-mixed colors. After painting, each piece is then oven baked to allow the textile to be fully washable, assuring that the color does not run out. The fabric is when washed and the starch is then scraped off, revealing the finished design. The fabric is then sun-dried again, after which it is sewn, and is then ready to be sold,” Said Gillie of the multui-step process.

Tribal Textile will be exhibiting for the first time at NY NOW’s Artisan Resource from August 20-23 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. On display will be hand-painted and screen-printed designs. “Many of our bestsellers are in the colorway ‘indigo intense’, so we’ve brought along samples of that. We have a new design we named “Boho” that is especially for Artisan Resource that we’re very excited about,” said Gillie.

Tribal Textiles products are available in the company’s main retail outlet in Mfuwe and other Zambian and African stockists. They are stocked by individual retailers in 20 countries worldwide and also have an online shop which ships all over the world. See the website for more details of where to find their products at www.tribaltextiles.co.zm.

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Breaking the Cycle

August 16, 2017, 7:55 pm

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Textile

Lula Mena’s five business principles

For the fourth time, Lula Mena will be attending NY NOW’s Artisan Resource at New York City’s Jacob Javit’s Center from Augist 20-23. We spoke with founder and designer Lula Mena about her five business principles that guide her company. Below is our interview.

HAND/EYE Magazine: What’s your guiding philosophy behind your company?

Lula Mena: I love my country, but we currently have a lot of issues That is exactly why I thought of my five principles and started my company. (women empowerment, eco-friendly, handmade, fair-trade, innovation) There are a lot of people that just migrate from the country because of the situation and we need people to stay and try to make it better! I love it here and I don’t imagine myself anywhere else. I decided to use my talent as a designer to create a sustainable business while helping people.

I believe that you shouldn’t just give money to help, but rather create opportunities so people can have a way to earn their money with dignity, while at the same time acquiring skills. I empower them, so they can be independent, and have the ability to make decisions in their homes. There is a machismo attitude here in El Salvador and all Latin America and I wanted to break that cycle so that was another thing that inspired me. I stopped being a passive person for the issue and started being active. I believe that no matter how small the thing you do is, if it is made with love it will flourish and good things will multiply.

H/E: Who are your artisans? Is it primarily women who work for you?

LM: I focus on the empowerment of women so the artisans are mainly women. I work with one community who are men, which is where I have my master artisan and his family. As new projects are developed, new communities are added and these are women. These women are trained and are provided with the materials so they can learn how to do jewelry and weaving. Once they are trained, they begin developing my designs and this is how they have a secure job with Lula Mena. Before, they were mainly housewives and now they earn three times more than the average in the fields of El Salvador. A lot of them have become the primary provider in their household and now have the opportunity to give education to their kids.

H/E: Please tell us about your current collections.

LM: The Copper Collection came from a partnership with the energy company DelSur, which donated over 60,000 uninstalled energy meters. I decided to re-purpose this material and added to create contemporary designs while at the same time aiding the environment. I included the copper in my jewelry and textiles, all made by the communities.

Waves of Hope consists of taking new designs that are being elaborated in two-framed looms by our new community of women in La Libertad, El Salvador and project Waves of Hope. Everything is hand-woven and it is a place that gives us a lot of cultural identity.

One of my current collections is the Wonder Woman collection, in which Warner Bros asked Latin American women to design pieces based on wonder, power and courage for the movie’s premiere. I designed three bracelets, each based on the following attributes:

Wonder

The internal ability to transform, create and shine from the inside, illuminating the exterior. Bracelets are made of leather, stones, crystals and copper wires.

Courage

The power to combine subtle actions with strong feelings; And thus the subtle power to change the world with small and beautiful daily actions. Bracelets are made with reused tire tube inner.

Power

Thread by thread, we interweave experiences that form a strong bond. We interweave people, feelings and events that cross our paths. The sum of these intertwined experiences give us our inner strength. Bracelet are hand-woven; made with reused copper strands of energy meters.

I design everything and then a prototype is created here at Lula Mena. I make the changes needed, and then these products are ready to be sent to the communities for the women to produce them exactly as the prototype. Everything is hand-made.

H/E: What will you be exhibiting at Artisan Resource?

LM: I am still deciding what I will be taking, but I will for sure be taking a lot of textiles mainly. I want to showcase my new designs with the new community from a project called Waves of Hope. I will be taking copper articles too, and some jewelry. There are some tentative products too.

For more information visit www.lulamena.com.

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Craft Enablers

August 16, 2017, 8:03 pm

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Textile

Recycled

Trash to Cash brings earning power to the disabled

New Delhi-based Trash to Cash has a heartening mission: it supports young adults with disabilities to earn an income.

Incorporated in 2013, Trash to Cash is the result of a development initiative via its not-for-profit arm Prabhat Society for Children. The program provides the children from poor handicraft-based families and communities across India with a rigorous program of academics, social skills and habits. At the age of 18, students are then transferred to the skill-building and income-generation program where they apprentice with other skilled workers with disabilities while they learn on the job. The program not only provides them with the necessary skill set to succeed at their jobs, but also become more confident in their capabilities, get more support from their families, and have the ability to access raw materials for their work in creative recycling.

According to Madhumita Puri, founder and executive director of Trash to Cash, “A lot of the time, established and skilled artisans collaborate with us to provide ongoing training in quality and product development. A unique and organic inclusive integration, which though initiated by Trash to Cash is slowly taking a life of its own!”

Trash to Cash’s primary collection, Avacayam, consists of home furnishing products such as cushions, runners, throws and rugs. "The collection is based on our beautiful "Flower Story" which began as our contribution to keeping our rivers clean and to include people with disability in the process. The mountains of flowers that are offered to the gods in worship posed a special challenge of respecting peoples beliefs and responsible disposal. Every day of the year, our collection vans visit the temples in New Delhi and collect over 200 pounds of flowers. These are then sorted, cut and dried by our amazing team of 70 young adults,” said Puri.

The dried petals are used to make dyes, powders, and incense sticks. The dyes and petals are used for eco-printing. “The process of eco-printing draws its method from the traditional practices used in India with techniques for finishing and color fastness in the textiles and yarns woven, she added.

Trash to Cash will be traveling to attend NY NOW’s Artisan Resource at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City from August 20-23. This will be their first time attending the show. They will be exhibiting home furnishing products from the Avacayam Collection, as well as lampshades and stationary made from upcylced materials. Also on view will be Prabhat by Dina, a collaborative brand developed by a French designer with a disability. She has teamed up with Trash to Cash to make bags and other storage options.

For more information visit www.trashtocashindia.com.

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Dignity by Design

August 16, 2017, 8:07 pm

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Textile

Natural Dyes

Uxibal Advocates Mayan Culture

Uxibal means “Sister” in Mayan and sets a new standard for promoting indigenous women through artisanship.

The Guatemalan based company, known for their bohemian chic line of accessories, reflects their culture’s strength and dynamisms. Each piece invokes a destination known for its diverse vistas, balmy climate, and a people known for their vivacity and strength of character. The collections represent the relationship between the women who hand weave the textiles and the promise access to an international market brings to their families and communities.

Britini Port founded the company after working with the Peace Corps on a sustainable agriculture program. Port, a skilled designer and advocate for women’s’ rights, connected to the rural communities and their way of life. The atmosphere of disdain for its women moved Port to create Uxibal.

The company helps women transcend poverty and gender violence by using their own cultural gifts and skill set. Uxibal does this by consistently raising awareness of social injustices, and working with local artisans and skilled workers to create products that translates a way of life into textiles with contemporary appeal.

The artisan luxury of each textile reflects the months it can take for a woman to hand weave a single piece. Britini explains more about the weaving process. “Starting with natural bamboo fiber threads, they hand-dye the fabrics in an ikat-like process, then spin the threads to prepare for the loom and finally weave the colorful threads into beautiful textiles that we use to create our shoes and accessories.”

Uxibal invests in locally-sourced leather smiths and bootmakers. They work from a small workshop in Antigua, Guatemala. The process is extensive and detail oriented, the love and care put into the craftsmanship made discernable by exclusive style and durability.

Britini says of the upcoming exhibition, “We will be featuring our SS18 collection using vibrant handwoven fabrics and traditional Mayan embroideries that are re-imagined into a line of contemporary shoes, handbags and accessories.” The new line was created through artisans partnering with the Mayan Association for Development. This evocative line of textiles will be available to potential buyers at NY NOW’s Artisan Resource August 20-23 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

For more information, please visit www.uxibal.com.

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Familial Ambition

August 16, 2017, 8:14 pm

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Textile

Artifact

Family Business Revolutionizes Guatemalan Style

When Manuela Macario invented the hacky sack at the age of thirty-three, little did she know her company would provide sustainable employment for local artisans and revolutionize the way the world envisioned Guatemalan flair for life and style.

The mother of twelve who grew up in poverty understood the need to utilize generations of superb craftsmanship and innovation. Twelve artisans now work from the family home and generates enough work for seventy-five other women. The women weave the tapestries used in the accessories from their communities in Solola, Quiche and Chimaltenago. Makario’s Artesans has since then shipped rich Guatemalan textiles to the US, Canada, and across Europe for over twenty years. A total of over three-hundred women benefited from the company’s success with clothing, handbags, and lovely huipil-made booties.

Rosa Macario told us more about the pride the company takes in working together as a family to fulfill a mission. “We work with families of artisans who work from home, give them the opportunity to have a more income to their homes, and promote the culture and art in their hands.

Our products are of very good quality, our line of handbags, handbags and footwear, are manufactured with 100% genuine leather, and handmade fabrics. We offer the customer variety in unique designs, and fine finishes.

Part of our work is the social impact, support we give to children of scarce resources, every year end we donate clothes, and footwear. This year we have had the opportunity to partner with a foundation that supports families with scarce resources, and it is our great pleasure to be a part of every family's dreams.”

We are to serve the customers, fulfilling their demands and quality that they wish. We are always innovating.”

Finishing touches are hand-tooled and customized at their workshop near Lake Aitlan. The family company with humble beginnings is now an international blueprint for revolutionizing craftsmanship, and aligning ethnic values with the modern marketplace. Makarios’ Artisans brings context and cultural renaissance to finely-crafted accessories, shoes, and clothing.

This exquisitely detailed product line will be exhibited for potential buyers at NY NOW’s Artisan Resource August 20-23 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

For more information, please visit: www.makariosartisans.com.

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Textiles Traditions

September 6, 2017, 5:11 pm

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Textile

Silk Weavers of Hill Tribe Laos

Silk Weavers of Hill Tribe Laos, a part travelogue and silk weaving primer, take armchair travelers on a picturesque and delightful journey to Lao’s Houaphan Province where authors Joshua Hirschstein and Maren Beck developed warm relationships with the silk weavers of the hill tribe community of Xam Tai.

Right from the very start, Hirschstein, Beck and their two sons, Ari and Zall, welcome the reader to Xam Tai with the sweet introduction of meeting children from the community. After a series of greetings and introductions, soon a woman from the village approaches them. Once pleasantries are exchanged, the couple inquire if there are any weavers; she leads them to her home to show them complex four-posted loom and her textile in progress.

Their reaction to the textile in progress is awe. “The silk shimmered like a jewel—a burst of opulence and intricacy and precision in reds, yellows, and purples that reached deep and sure. The bold Escheresque geometric pattern—was this a man standing? Was this rice awaiting harvest?—defied the ‘simpleness’ of our surroundings.”

Combined with the stunning photographs by Joe Coca, the couple’s narrative is all show—captured in a spectacular manner by the images, enticing the reader to abandon that comfortable armchair, book a flight to Laos and travel to Xam Tai.

Divided into five parts, the travelogue portion (parts one and two) of the book provides a geo-political history of the region and background on its ethno-cultural roots. Mingled between these chapters are stories of master weavers within the community, such as Nang Tiip, Xam Tai’s most productive weaver, who typically spends seven to eight hours a day at her loom.

Parts three and four delve into the art of creating the textiles with a strong chapter on the art of Xam Tai design motifs—a unique fusion of of animist and Buddhist traditions. “…motifs born from animist traditions symbolically focus on accessing and placating the world of spirits and the after life. This world is of strange blends of creatures, and the human efforts to illuminate and gain access and influence over the unknown. These cloths often have elements asymmetry and are woven in highly complex mirror-image patterns that easily hide the motifs and deceive the eye,” write Hirschtein and Beck. Whereas Buddhist motifs emphasize the natural world in contemporary times. These forms tend to be geometric with an emphasis in symmetry and balance. The latter chapters focus on cotton and silk production, silk reeling, the art of natural dyes, which include recipes for several colors, and a impressive weaving primer.

How to best describe Silk Weavers of Hill Tribe Laos? A brilliant tome that will satisfy textile lovers, travelers, and anyone with an interest in southeast Asia.

To purchase Silk Weavers of Hill Tribe Laos visit www.amazon.com.

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